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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Avoiding Writers' Butt!

I
sit in front of a computer for many hours every day, both writing and running
my business. When I'm concentrating, I also have a habit of dipping into a bag
of pistachio or cashew nuts and nibbling away. It's oh so easy to pile on the
pounds if I'm not careful and along with that comes aching hips and knees and a
bad back.

I've
heard of writers trying all types of things to burn calories and keep active
while they work, treadmill desks and little cycles under the table. I'm sure
these work for some but neither appeal to me.

For
me, the ideal way to counteract the physical inactivity is to take regular
breaks and go for a walk. The problem is remembering to do so and motivating
myself. A few weeks ago I discovered a pedometer called a Fitbit Flex. It's a wrist band that contains
a small device that measures the wearer's steps.

My
husband is the fitness fanatic in our house, so I surprised us both when I took
the plunge and ordered a Flex. The default setting on the device is a daily target
of 10,000 steps—the distance recommended by the American Heart Association to
stay healthy. I couldn't imagine taking that many steps in a day, but in fact
10,000 steps is only about five miles. (Actual distance walked depends on the
length of your steps.)

The
Fitbit talks to an app on your cell phone via bluetooth and free software on your
computer through a dongle that's included in the box. It's possible to monitor
far more than just steps and distance. If you want to go the whole hog and use
it to help lose weight, it has a function for monitoring calorie use and
comparing that with your daily calorie intake.

I've
been wearing my Fitbit on my wrist for two weeks now, and it has motivated me
to take regular breaks to walk around our garden so the step count mounts up
during the day. Then I usually finish off with a nice long walk with my dog in
the afternoon. I imagine it's a lot easier to hit the target if you own a dog!
Sometimes I've resorted to walking around the kitchen umpteen times in the evening
to rack up the final few hundred steps to hit my target—this totally confuses
my cat and dog who think I've gone crazy.

The
Flex also has a sleep mode to monitor quality and length of sleep each night.
This has been quite an eye-opener for me. I was kidding myself I had around
eight hours sleep a night. I've now discovered I manage between six and seven
hours most nights. That might explain why I'm tired a lot of the time!

If
you find yourself sitting too long at the computer and need motivation to take
more exercise, I can tell you the Flex has worked for me far better than I
imagined. After two weeks I already feel fitter.

For
those of you who have to sit still for long periods of time, how do you stay
fit?

Helen Scott Taylor lives in South West England near
Plymouth in Devon between the windswept expanse of Dartmoor and the rocky
Atlantic coast. As well as her wonderful, long-suffering husband, she shares
her home with a Westie a Shih Tzu and a burmilla cat. Helen's latest venture is
a ten book boxed set, Ten
Brides for Ten Heroes. Find Helen on FaceBook and Twitter, or visit her website.

Great post, Helen. It's true that we writers need to challenge ourselves to move -- for our health and mental energy too! My husband gave me a Fitbit for my birthday to replace my old-school pedometer and I'm sold. I love winning badges and receiving the congratulatory emails when I reach my goals. It's a very clever -- and motivational -- program, I agree. Thanks for sharing!

Helen, I've never heard of writers' butt but what an apt term. A colleague of mine bought a pedometer watch/bracelet that sounds a lot like your FitBit Flex. Hers cost about a hundred bucks which was too costly for me. I have a feeling a pedometer would be depressing for me as I'd realize how little I move during the day. I've tried so many different exercise tricks. I seem to keep them up for about six weeks and then nothing. Right now, I'm doing the recumbent bike each morning. I've found that whatever I do I have to do first thing in the morning else I don't do it. The good news is that my good cholesterol (HDL) was up 9 points since my doctor's visit four months ago. I think the exercise made the difference.

I hope the bike continues to work for you, Angela. I've tried exercise bikes over the years, but I really prefer simply to walk outside. I'm luck to live in a lovely countryside area so it's a pleasure to exercise outside. I bought my son a Fitbit Flex to motivate him to leave his computer sometimes. When I asked him how many steps he'd taken the other day he'd managed 600! So it's not motivating him very well.

Hi Helen, I just read your post and you managed to convince me. I'll look the Fitbit on the Internet. I certainly use a motivation to move around. I have been swimming daily for the past two months. A friend who is a psychologist told me we need 21 days to build a good habit. I'm so afraid to break my good swimming habit, but in winter I will need something more practical with the cold weather.